Tackling the Handwrap Problem -- 3 Possible Solutions:

[Certon]

(apologies beforehand for the wall of text. I tried to break it up with a few headers...)

I KNOW devs pull out their hair when dealing with the mechanics of handwraps. They are Two-Weapon Fighting items that equip like Two-Handed Fighting items. Below are my three proposals to bring wrap use into line with the other weapons, from worst idea (in my opinion) to best.

1. Handwraps Equip to Gloves Slot:

The worst of the three ideas. Handwraps would equip to the gloves slot and impart all their stats onto unarmed attacks. For the effect to transfer at all to unarmed attacks, NO items could be equipped as weapons. This would be a HUGE penalty to monks, who would lose a glove slot, and would be received very negatively by most, if not all, players.

2. New, Handwraps Slot on Paper Doll

A taming down of the above idea, at the cost of some new coding and artwork revamp. If anything is equipped into the handwraps slot, weapons slots are unequipped and placed into inventory, and if any weapons are placed into weapon slots, the handwraps slot is unequipped and placed into inventory.

On the back-end, what this does is place invisible versions of the handwraps into the each of the monks weapon slots, as far as the game is concerned, so that the regular resolution of procs and crits can be decided, just like if they were any other 1h weapon. Still, not an elegant solution, but a solution which would bring them in line with other one handed weapons so that the 'special' code they need now could be eliminated.

3. Handwraps Become Handwrap (One-Handed Weapon)

I think this is the best solution.

Change handwraps to handwrap. Make them 1h blunt weapons and allow the players to mix and match them. There are a few hurdles that must be crossed over to make this succeed:

a. Current handwraps would need to be converted. Players would use the Stone of Change (or other converter) on them, and the current handwraps would become two(2) 1h handwraps of the same type, so that the current playerbase would not lose out in the exchange.

b. Augment slots would need to be reevaluated. This would not be terrible, but some might not like it. Thunder Forged Handwraps would lose the default red augment slot for being a 2h weapon, but if a player had two of them there would be no real change at the base tier, while they'd actually benefit at the higher tiers.

c. This may be the biggest hurdle of all in the whole process. Animations would need to be modified for people using one handwrap and fighting with Single Weapon Fighting (perhaps with one hand at the side or bent behind the back, like in the king-fu movies) or fighting with a non handwrap in the one hand. There may be ways around it that the developers may think of, perhaps by not allowing for SWF with wraps or showing the regular animation cycle but only attacking with the main hand.

I think this third solution is a bit complex, but it is straightforward when it comes to alleviating the borked mechanics of handwraps and aligning them with the other weapon types, as far as how the game interprets their use.

Thank you for your consideration.

[RobbinB]

(apologies beforehand for the wall of text. I tried to break it up with a few headers...)

I KNOW devs pull out their hair when dealing with the mechanics of handwraps. They are Two-Weapon Fighting items that equip like Two-Handed Fighting items. Below are my three proposals to bring wrap use into line with the other weapons, from worst idea (in my opinion) to best.

1. Handwraps Equip to Gloves Slot:

The worst of the three ideas. Handwraps would equip to the gloves slot and impart all their stats onto unarmed attacks. For the effect to transfer at all to unarmed attacks, NO items could be equipped as weapons. This would be a HUGE penalty to monks, who would lose a glove slot, and would be received very negatively by most, if not all, players.

2. New, Handwraps Slot on Paper Doll

A taming down of the above idea, at the cost of some new coding and artwork revamp. If anything is equipped into the handwraps slot, weapons slots are unequipped and placed into inventory, and if any weapons are placed into weapon slots, the handwraps slot is unequipped and placed into inventory.

On the back-end, what this does is place invisible versions of the handwraps into the each of the monks weapon slots, as far as the game is concerned, so that the regular resolution of procs and crits can be decided, just like if they were any other 1h weapon. Still, not an elegant solution, but a solution which would bring them in line with other one handed weapons so that the 'special' code they need now could be eliminated.

3. Handwraps Become Handwrap (One-Handed Weapon)

I think this is the best solution.

Change handwraps to handwrap. Make them 1h blunt weapons and allow the players to mix and match them. There are a few hurdles that must be crossed over to make this succeed:

a. Current handwraps would need to be converted. Players would use the Stone of Change (or other converter) on them, and the current handwraps would become two(2) 1h handwraps of the same type, so that the current playerbase would not lose out in the exchange.

b. Augment slots would need to be reevaluated. This would not be terrible, but some might not like it. Thunder Forged Handwraps would lose the default red augment slot for being a 2h weapon, but if a player had two of them there would be no real change at the base tier, while they'd actually benefit at the higher tiers.

c. This may be the biggest hurdle of all in the whole process. Animations would need to be modified for people using one handwrap and fighting with Single Weapon Fighting (perhaps with one hand at the side or bent behind the back, like in the king-fu movies) or fighting with a non handwrap in the one hand. There may be ways around it that the developers may think of, perhaps by not allowing for SWF with wraps or showing the regular animation cycle but only attacking with the main hand.

I think this third solution is a bit complex, but it is straightforward when it comes to alleviating the borked mechanics of handwraps and aligning them with the other weapon types, as far as how the game interprets their use.

Thank you for your consideration.

#4. Handwraps are normal one-handed bludgeoning weapons that take up both slots

I don't think there would be any problem with coding the handwraps as taking up both slots but acting as if u had slotted two identical one handed weapons in each of the slots.

99% of the problems with handwraps result due to the different way in which the damage of handwraps is applied (you are the weapon instead of the weapon). If they had coded them originally as regular one-handed weapons (or weren't so stubborn about changing that after the fact) then the majority of the handwrap bugs simply wouldn't exist.

[Grailhawk]

OP's option number 3 is the correct implementation IMO. Ignore legacy slots, don't worry about animations Fury of blows animation takes precedence over standard TWF, SWF animations. Also need to make them work as Hand and a Half weapons like bastard swords so that they can benefit from THF feats as they have in the past.